Harald “Lee Tarot” Spengler, the original guitarist for legendary German metallers STORMWITCH, died on April 11 at the age of 50 after suffering a stroke. Spengler was a member of STORMWITCH from 1979 to 1989 and he appeared on the band’s first five releases: “Walpurgis Night” (1984), “Tales Of Terror” (1985), “Stronger Than Heaven” (1986), “The Beauty And The Beast” (1988) and “Eye Of The Storm” (1989).

STORMWITCH released the following message regarding Spengler’s passing: “[On Thursday] we got the message that Harald Spengler (Lee Tarot) had a stroke. We are very sad about this message. Our thoughts are with it, his family and members.”

Formed in 1979 under the name LEMON SYLVAN, STORMWITCH’s lyrics often focused on fantasy, occult and historical themes. They performed at Wacken Open Air festival in 2002. Over time, they changed their sound from a JUDAS PRIEST-esque style of heavy metal to a more keyboard-based form of power metal.

Oscar Dronjak of HammerFall commented, “Harald Spengler was a massive influence to my guitar playing and song writing. Sad to see him pass away!”

HammerFall covered the Stormwitch song, “Ravenlord”. The original by Stormwitch can be heard below.